Renewable Fuel Technology breaks ground on 5 Mgy soy biodiesel plant in Nebraska

In Nebraska, Renewable Fuel Technology broke ground on a 5 Mgy soy biodiesel plant in Arapahoe. The $16 million project is expected to be completed by this autumn and will employ a staff of 20.

Nebraska background

Earlier this month, 4Rivers BioEnergy announced a LOI to acquire the assets of Midwest Renewable Energy including a 28 Mgy corn ethanol plant in Sutherland, Nebraska that is undergoing expansion to a capacity of 70 MGy.

Last February, Ethanex announced that they would acquire the plant, but Ethanex filed for bankruptcy in March after failing to raise $1.5 million in interim financing for a planned $220 million, three-plant acquisition in Nebraska.

Under the final agreement, Ethanex has agreed to acquire the existing 26 Mgy Midwest corn ethanol plant for $50 million, and would subsequently acquire an additional 85 Mgy in production capacity, currently under development by Midwest. Total capacity for the plant has been announced at 111 Mgy upon project completion. The deal was initially announced in November. Capacity expansion has been subsequently curtailed.

Also earlier this month, VeraSun Energy officially opened its 100 Mgy corn ethanol plant in Albion. The $200 million plant is credited with sparking a boomlet in local real estate, according to Boone County authorities.

In March, the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey reported that local farmland prices have jumped 23 percent in the past year, and 88 percent since 2003. Adjusted for inflation, land prices set an all-time record in 2007, on strong demand for corn, at $1,425 per acre.

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